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Credit Where Credit Is Due

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  • Credit Where Credit Is Due

    Joe, An excellent informative article. I have learned a lot since going into retail. I'm afraid that my POS system is a bit behind Home Depot, but still functions adequately for the purpose. One piece of hardware left out is something called a ZON coble. This is an optional piece of equipment. It is not necessary for the successful functioning of POS, but can provide a wealth of data and information. The ZON cable connects the credit card terminal with a serial port of your computer. (Please try to imagine salespeople's faces in this day and age when I was shopping for a computer and insisted upon two serial ports). Credit card info flows back and forth from the computer to the credit card terminal and provides reports, data feeds, etc. Dave

  • #2
    Credit Where Credit Is Due

    The article didn't mention the challenges of interfacing magnetic stripe readers, MICR readers, and pin pads to a 5250-based POS application. Now that's fun!

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    • #3
      Credit Where Credit Is Due

      I can remember when IBM came out with 5250 POS terminals back in 1979! I never worked with these terminals, but it would be interesting to hear from someone who did. Dave

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      • #4
        Credit Where Credit Is Due

        Thanks, David! I've been positively buried the last few days with an entirely unrelated project (connecting an iSeries and a SQL Server database), so I haven't been as timely in my responses. As I mentione din the article, I do a lot of work for and with NBS Consultants and their PICS product, which is basically an ERP tailored for the food industry, and so they do a ton of stuff with POS devices and credit card processing. The first time he mentioned the term "ZON", I swear I thought he was talking about one of Superman's foes. I've since found that, as you said, this little device provides a ton of information for people programming POS solutions. Joe

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        • #5
          Credit Where Credit Is Due

          Not only that, Mike, but more and more the full-fledged self-service checkout terminal is coming into vogue. Home Depot, Walmart and at lest one of the local supermarkets has the line where you scan your own items, put them into bags in the bagging area, and then pay by any form of payment, from credit cards to checks to cash. THAT has to be an interesting bit of programming! Joe

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          • #6
            Credit Where Credit Is Due

            I liked your article. In addition to credit cards there are also debit cards which require pin entry. And, the latest thing we're doing is allowing transactions with a company called "Bill Me Later" that acts as a one-time credit setup for a particular transaction. This lets the consumer purchase without a credit card or debit card. To our transaction processing, though, it looks very similar to a credit card transaction, including the settlement part. Here's a caveat to consumers. The ONLY information we need to process a Bill Me Later transaction is your name, birth date and the last 4 digits of your SSN. So, be warned consumers, never give out your birthdate and last 4 digits of SSN to anyone, they can be used to purchase products over the internet! chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. "MC Web Master" wrote in message news:6b26e451.-1@WebX.WawyahGHajS... > This is a discussion about Credit Where Credit Is Due. > > Click here for the article <http://www.mcpressonline.com/mc?1@23...T.17@.6b2639c4>.

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            • #7
              Credit Where Credit Is Due

              ** This thread discusses the Content article: Credit Where Credit Is Due **
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              • #8
                Credit Where Credit Is Due

                Chuck, thanks for the caveat. I think it's important that consumers realize just how tenuous their identity really is, and how easily this information can be abused. Joe

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